by Mahil Dole
Senior Superintendent of Police (Retd.);
former Member, Sri Lanka Wakfs Board

On 03 September. 2026. the Sri Lanka Police marked 160 years with the full ceremonial apparatus of the State. At the Field Force Headquarters, in Thimbirigasyaya, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake received a guard of honour, a commemorative stamp was presented, long-service promotions were conferred, and a new mobile application and website were unveiled. He promised a new uniform by mid-2027, a risk allowance, a proper promotion scheme, official housing, vehicles, a modern headquarters, and approval to recruit 10,000 officers. He also warned that officers who can be purchased by the underworld should leave the uniform. It was a day of history, optics and declared intent.

Two days later, the Officer-in-Charge of the Traffic Division, at Dehiwala Police Station, made an entry in the routine information book, left his post and went home. He wrote that he could no longer cope with the workload and the pressure of the job. Mount Lavinia Division SSP Ashoka Gunasekara ordered the Crimes Investigation Bureau to inquire. Statements were recorded from the Inspector and the supervising ASP after advice from the Police Legal Division. The SSP’s reported worry was not only the officer’s welfare. It was precedent: that other traffic officers might follow.

That reflex is understandable. A disciplined force cannot treat walking off a post as ordinary industrial action. An OIC holds keys, files, exhibits, court dates and daily command of men and women on the road. Desertion of duty, even when dressed as despair, is a breach. But if the inquiry stops at the man and the entry in the book, the service will have treated a symptom as if it were the disease. The episode is not interesting because one Inspector lost his nerve. It is interesting because the nerve was lost in the same week the State spent public money and presidential time announcing that a new police service is being built.

The numbers behind the pageant

The Sri Lanka Police is not a decaying relic. It runs some 609 stations across 47 territorial and 78 functional divisions. In the past two years it has recorded the largest narcotics seizures in recent memory, more than five tonnes of heroin, nearly 10 tonnes of crystal methamphetamine, tens of tonnes of Kerala cannabis, and more than 16 million tablets, and has brought armed fugitives home from abroad. That record is real.

The same institution is running on a deficit no parade can conceal. Police Headquarters has acknowledged more than 30,000 vacancies, on some official reckonings closer to 32,000. Since 2020 more than 4,300 officers have left. Departures peaked in 2025 and remained high through the first half of 2026. Thousands more are due to retire in the next two years.

Applications have thinned as young people look overseas and serving officers leave early for work that pays better and humiliates less. Approval to take in 10,000 recruits is not trivial. It is also not a cure. A force that loses about two thousand people a year and starts 30 thousand short cannot be restored by a single intake, especially if training, housing and supervision cannot absorb newcomers without breaking them.

The President was right to say that officers work 12- to 18-hour stretches. Traffic OICs in the Colombo suburbs live inside a particular version of that grind. Dehiwala sits on one of the island’s most congested corridors. It absorbs school runs, funerals, political motorcades, night-time drunk driving and a motoring public that treats lane markings as optional. Accident files multiply. Court lists lengthen. Every fatal crash must be walked through the Magistrate’s Court, the JMO, insurers and grieving families. The same officer is then pulled into VIP movements, festivals, flood deployments, elections and the expanding list of “other duties” that have little to do with traffic law and everything to do with the State’s habit of using the police as a general-purpose labour pool. Firearm offences and narcotics have not stood still while traffic thickened. A single video of an officer losing his temper on Galle Road travels farther in an hour than a year’s worth of quiet competence. The public sees the outburst. It rarely sees the 16th hour.

The household the uniform does not protect

Work pressure is only the official half of the story. The unofficial half is the household. A constable’s or inspector’s pay still does not absorb the cost of living without anxiety. Quarters are scarce, often poor, and frequently far from the station. A sudden transfer turns schooling into a private crisis. Medical bills, tuition and the small humiliations of falling behind civilian neighbours accumulate. Job security, once the great consolation of the service, feels thinner when overseas markets offer an exit and a disciplinary file, sometimes necessary, sometimes political, can end a career in a week.

Teachers, nurses and soldiers carry their own weights; the police have never had a monopoly on hardship. What is distinctive is the bargain the State still recites and no longer quite honours. In harder years the compact was simple and was taught as S.S.S.: loyalty to the State, the Service and the Superior. That instruction was never a one-way street. It assumed a Superior who would not spend subordinates as disposable hours; a Service that would shield its own from avoidable misery; and a State that would not treat the policeman as both first responder and last resort for every failure of other institutions. When the roster is left to rot, when quarters and schooling are treated as private inconveniences, and when an officer’s first public mention after distress is “precedent,” the compact is already broken. Pageantry cannot put it back together.

Trust from top to bottom is what is fraying. Juniors already hear the message when welfare is announced at an anniversary and felt only as a circular months later, and when promotions stall for years before arriving in a ceremonial bundle. Loyalty cannot be drilled into people who no longer believe the institution will stand behind them when the file, the politician, the video or the debt collector arrives.

Discipline is not denial

An inquiry into the Dehiwala OIC is in order. The information book is an official record; walking off a post has consequences; other officers will watch what happens next. If the Inspector was in genuine distress, the professional response is medical and administrative support, not a theatrical charge designed to frighten the traffic branch. If misconduct is mixed with the distress, deal with the misconduct without using it to bury the distress. The worst outcome would be a finding that treats the episode as a one-man failure of character. Character is not irrelevant. It is not a staffing plan.

Sri Lankan policing already knows what happens when exhaustion is ignored: suicides after double shifts, public confrontations that began as fatigue, quiet desertions that never made the papers. Burnout studies here are not new. They describe too much demand, too little recovery and too little support from above. Research and Development does not need a five-year consultancy to discover this. It needs permission to say it in language headquarters cannot file away.

Immediate, short and long

Immediate measures are unglamorous. Audit actual hours at traffic divisions in the Western Province and cap them. Stop treating leave as a favour. Put a working counselling line in every division that an Inspector can use without becoming a case for the Legal Division. Temporary reinforcement of Dehiwala and similar corridors would cost less than another viral incident. Publish, internally, a simple rule: an officer who records distress in the information book is first a welfare case, then, if needed, a disciplinary one.

Short-term measures are already half-promised and must be made real on a calendar, not a podium. Stagger the 10,000 recruits so trainers and barracks are not overwhelmed. Let the risk allowance reach the constable on the road. Weigh schooling years in transfers. Treat quarters as operational infrastructure.

Reorganise court duty so the same handful of officers are not living in Magistrate’s Courts while the road goes unsupervised. Use the new app and cameras to cut paperwork, not to add another layer on top of the old books.

Long-term measures are political, which is why they are postponed. The police cannot remain the residual employer of every State anxiety — drugs, school gates, temple crowds, politician security, disaster relief and traffic. Some of those tasks belong to other agencies, or to a properly staffed traffic police with its own career path and rest rules. The President’s warning about purchasable uniforms was necessary, but integrity campaigns fail when the honest officer is the poorest man in the room.

None of this requires sentimentality. The public has reasons for anger: corruption cases, rough handling, political servility, the officer mysteriously unavailable until a call from above. Those failures are part of the same story. An understaffed, poorly housed force is easier to buy, easier to bully and quicker to snap. Reform that only lectures the ranks on ethics while leaving the roster untouched is not reform. It is a speech.

What the week actually said

The 160th anniversary was entitled to its dignity. A service that has buried officers in war, tsunami, pandemic and ordinary crime has a right to stand in formation and be thanked. Promises of uniforms, allowances and buildings are not empty if they arrive. But a uniform does not shorten a shift, an app does not find a school for a transferred child, and a commemorative stamp does not sit with an OIC at midnight while the next accident file is opened.

The Dehiwala Inspector may be right or wrong in the particular. That is what the inquiry is for. The conditions he pointed to are not in dispute: cadre shortfall, thinning applications, thin welfare, long hours, growing crime, traffic and court work, and daily media humiliation. Trust between the top and the bottom is weaker than the anniversary photographs suggest.

If Research and Development is good for anything this month, it should take the entry in that information book as a research question, not a disciplinary exhibit: actual weekly hours of traffic OICs in the Western Province, vacancy rates on those rosters, applications for early release or overseas no-pay, and access to counselling that is not a rumour. The answers will be uncomfortable. They will be more useful than another circular on loyalty.

S.S.S

. still has a meaning. Loyalty to the State requires a State that does not consume its own guardians. Loyalty to the Service requires a Service that tells itself the truth between parades. Loyalty to the Superior requires superiors who are alarmed by exhaustion, not only by precedent. The Inspector who went home from Dehiwala did not invent the pressure. He only wrote it down. The test of the next year is whether the men who stood on the saluting dais on 03 September are prepared to read that sentence as an order of the day.

Mahil Dole, SSP (Retired), is the former Head of the Counter-Terrorism Division of the State Intelligence Service and a former Director of the Police Special Branch.

by Dr B. J. C. Perera  
MBBS(Cey), DCH(Cey), DCH(Eng),
MD(Paediatrics), MRCP(UK), FRCP(Edin),
FRCP(Lond), FRCPCH(UK), FSLCPaed, FCCP,
Hony. FRCPCH(UK), Hony. FCGP(SL)
Specialist Consultant Paediatrician and Honorary Senior Fellow,
Postgraduate Institute of Medicine,
University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
An independent freelance medical correspondent.

Could the spectacle of taking timed breaks from eating be the missing link to human health, or is it another fad or just a fleeting modern craze? Let us see the scientific picture and arrive at an evidence-based guide to how planned fasting works, its distinct styles, the proven benefits, and the essential safety guidelines.

In a culture accustomed to round-the-clock snacking, late-night refrigerator and kitchen raids, and endless food delivery apps, the concept of voluntarily abstaining from food can sound rather counterintuitive and radical. Yet, periodic fasting has evolved from an ancient spiritual ritual into one of the most rigorously researched health interventions of modern medicine. Over the past two decades, the medical fraternity of cardiologists, endocrinologists, and neuroscientists has shifted their gaze from what we eat to when we eat. Medical research has demonstrated that giving the digestive system structured pauses can trigger a cascade of cellular repair mechanisms, refine metabolic efficiency, and support long-term vital health.

However, voluntary fasting is not a single, one-size-fits-all prescription. From daily eating windows to multi-day fasts, the approaches vary widely in intensity, suitability, and clinical impact. Presented here is a comprehensive look at what happens inside the body when you fast, the primary methods available, the science-backed benefits, the potential drawbacks, and who should or should not give it a try.

The Biology Behind the Break: What Happens When You Fast?

To understand why fasting works, it helps to view the human body as a hybrid vehicle capable of running on two distinct energy sources: glucose (sugar derived from carbohydrates) and ketones (fatty acids broken down from stored body fat).

When you eat regularly throughout the day, your body constantly secretes the hormone insulin from the organ pancreas to transport glucose into your cells for immediate energy or store it in the liver and muscles as glycogen. As long as insulin levels remain elevated, your body stays in “storage mode,” rarely needing to tap into its long-term fat reserves. When you refrain from food for several consecutive hours, insulin levels drop significantly. Once the body exhausts its readily available liver glycogen reserves, typically after 12 to 16 hours of fasting, it reaches a metabolic turning point known as the metabolic switch. The liver begins converting stored body fat into ketones, shifting the body into a “burning mode.”

Beyond burning fat, extended periods without food trigger a fundamental cellular maintenance process called autophagy, derived from the Greek words for “self-eating“. During autophagy, cells clean the house, recycling damaged proteins, clearing out useless cellular debris, and stimulating mitochondrial regeneration; mitochondria being the multi-functional powerhouses of cells. Think of it as your body’s internal spring-cleaning service, which remains largely dormant when energy is constantly coming in.

The Main Types of Fasting: Methods and Their Pros and Cons

Periodic and intermittent fasting encompass several distinct protocols. Choosing the right pattern depends entirely on your lifestyle, health goals, and personal schedule.

1. Time-Restricted Eating (The 16:8 or 14:10 Method)

This is the most popular and accessible form of fasting. It involves limiting your daily food intake to a specific window of time each day and fasting for the remaining hours.

· How it works: In a typical 16:8 routine, you fast for 16 hours overnight and during the morning, restricting all meals to an 8-hour window (for instance, eating only between 11:00 AM and 7:00 PM).

· Pros:

Highly sustainable, easy to integrate into social schedules, does not require calorie counting or special meal plans.

· Cons:

Less dramatic autophagy response compared to longer fasts; easy to overeat or consume poor-quality foods during the feeding window if unmindful.

2. The 5:2 Protocol (The Weekly Fast)

Popularised by medical journalists and researchers, the 5:2 diet approaches fasting on a weekly rather than daily cycle.

· How it works: You eat normally for five days of the week. On the remaining two non-consecutive days (e.g., Tuesdays and Thursdays), you limit calorie intake to approximately 500 to 600 calories per day.

· Pros:

Offers flexibility since you only modify your habits two days a week; yields significant improvements in insulin sensitivity.

· Cons:

The two low-calorie days can cause persistent hunger, irritability, and low energy, especially during the first few weeks of adaptation.

3. Alternate-Day Fasting (ADF)

A more intensive protocol often studied in clinical trials for rapid metabolic improvement and weight loss.

· How it works: You alternate between days of unrestricted eating and days where you either consume zero calories or a single micro-meal of about 500 calories.

· Pros:

Highly effective for weight reduction and blood sugar regulation; triggers robust physiological adaptations.

· Cons:

Difficult to sustain long-term for most individuals; high risk of evening hunger pangs and social disruption on fasting days.

4. Prolonged Periodic Fasting (24 to 48 Hours)

This involves taking extended breaks from food once or twice a month, or once a season.

· How it works: Abstaining from all caloric intake (water, herbal teas, and black coffee are allowed) for a full 24 to 48 hours.

· Pros:

Maximises deep cellular repair (autophagy), immune system reset, and ketone production.

· Cons:

Requires strict medical awareness and psychological readiness; carries higher risks of light-headedness, electrolyte imbalances, and muscle loss if done too frequently or without adequate nutrition afterwards.

What Medical Research Shows: The Health Benefits

Clinical research published in many reputed medical journals highlights several major biological benefits associated with periodic fasting:

· Weight Loss and Visceral Fat Reduction: By narrowing the eating window, most people naturally consume fewer calories. Furthermore, lower insulin levels combined with elevated noradrenaline levels make it easier for the body to access stubborn visceral fat (E.g. the metabolic fat stored around abdominal organs).

· Improved Insulin Sensitivity and Type 2 Diabetes Management:

Fasting gives the pancreas a rest and reduces chronic insulin exposure. Studies show marked drops in fasting blood glucose and resting insulin levels, significantly reducing the risk of developing insulin resistance.

· Cardiovascular Support:

Regular fasting patterns have been associated with improvements in key heart health markers, including reduced systemic inflammation (reduced C-reactive protein), lower blood pressure, decreased resting heart rate, and improved blood triglyceride levels.

· Brain Health and Mental Clarity:

Fasting stimulates the production of a protein called Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF). It promotes the growth of new neurons and protects against neurodegenerative decline. Many practitioners report heightened focus and mental sharpness once their body adapts to burning ketones.

· Cellular Renewal and Reduced Inflammation:

By clearing out damaged cellular components through autophagy, fasting helps suppress chronic low-grade inflammation; a fundamental driver of premature ageing, heart disease, and autoimmune conditions.

Undesirable Effects and Possible Pitfalls

While periodic fasting offers substantial benefits, it is not without potential downsides, particularly during the initial adaptation period or when practised incorrectly.

· The “Adaptation Phase” Symptoms: During the first 1 to 2 weeks, as the body transitions away from constant sugar reliance, individuals frequently experience headaches, fatigue, brain fog, irritability, and mild dizziness.

· Digestive Disturbances:

Changes in meal timing and volume can lead to constipation, heartburn, or loose stools as gut motility adapts.

· Nutritional Deficiencies and Muscle Loss:

If you do not eat nutrient-dense meals during your eating windows, fasting can lead to deficiencies in essential vitamins, minerals, and protein. Insufficient protein intake combined with fasting can cause the body to break down lean muscle mass alongside fat.

· Disrupted Relationship with Food:

For individuals prone to disordered eating, strict fasting windows can trigger unhealthy cycles of restriction followed by severe binge eating during open windows.

· Sleep Problems:

Fasting raises cortisol and adrenaline levels slightly to maintain blood glucose. For some, late-evening hunger or elevated alertness can interfere with sleep.

Age Groups: Who Should Fast, and Who Should Avoid It?

Fasting affects the human body differently depending on life stage, hormonal status, and metabolic demands.

Recommended Age Groups (Healthy Adults Ages 18 to 65)

· Young & Middle-Aged Adults (18–50):

They generally tolerate all forms of fasting exceptionally well. This age bracket stands to gain significant preventative metabolic benefits against lifestyle diseases.

· Older Adults (51–65): Benefit greatly from improved insulin sensitivity and cardiovascular support. However, they need to pay careful attention to maintaining adequate muscle mass by consuming sufficient protein and performing resistance exercises.

Groups Who Must Exercise Caution or Seek Supervision

· Seniors Over 65–70:

Older individuals face higher risks of unintended weight loss, sarcopenia (muscle wasting), and frailty. Any fasting regimen for seniors should be mild (e.g., 12 to 14 hours) and supervised by a physician.

· Individuals with Chronic Conditions: Anyone taking medications for high blood pressure, thyroid function, or diabetes (especially insulin or sulfonylureas) must consult their doctor before fasting, as dosage adjustments are often necessary to prevent severe low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia).

Groups Who Should Avoid Fasting Completely

· Children and Adolescents (Under 18):

Developing bodies require continuous, reliable nutrients and energy for growth, organ development, and hormonal balance.

· Pregnant or Breastfeeding Women: Nutrient and energy demands are significantly elevated to support foetal development and milk production. Restricting food can harm both mother and child.

· Individuals with a History of Eating Disorders:

Fasting rules can exacerbate behaviours related to anorexia, bulimia, or compulsive bingeing.

· Underweight Individuals:

Those with a Body Mass Index (BMI) below 18.5 should not fast, as fat stores are insufficient to support metabolic switching safely.

Practical Tips for Starting Safely

If you decide to incorporate periodic fasting into your life, keep these medical best practices in mind:

· Start Slowly: Don’t jump straight into a 24-hour fast. Begin with a simple 12-hour overnight fast (e.g., 7:00 PM to 7:00 AM) and gradually extend it to 14 or 16 hours over several weeks.

· Prioritise Hydration:

Fasting means abstaining from calories, not fluids. Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Black coffee, plain green or black tea, and herbal infusions without sugar or milk, do not break a fast and help suppress mild hunger.

· Electrolytes Matter:

As insulin drops, the kidneys excrete sodium and water more rapidly. If you experience headaches or light-headedness, adding a tiny pinch of salt to your water can help restore balance.

· Focus on Food Quality:

Fasting is not a free pass to eat junk food during your feeding window. Centre your meals around whole foods: lean proteins, healthy fats (olive oil, avocados, nuts), complex carbohydrates, and plenty of vegetables.

· Listen to Your Body:

Mild hunger pangs that come in waves are normal; severe weakness, persistent dizziness, nausea, or confusion are not. If you feel genuinely unwell, break your fast calmly with a light meal.

The Key Takeaway

(the witticism and pun is intended!)

Periodic fasting is not a quick-fix diet or a magical remedy. Rather, it is a flexible, cost-free tool that aligns our eating patterns with human evolutionary biology. By giving your body regular, structured breaks from digestion, you allow internal repair systems to kick in, sharpen metabolic efficiency, and support long-term vitality.

Whether you choose a gentle 14-hour daily rest or a structured 5:2 weekly routine, the key to success in periodic fasting lies in consistency, the provision of adequate nutrition despite fasting, good hydration and listening closely to your body’s signals. Fasting should be designed and undertaken to empower your life and health: not overtake it and take complete control of it. It is another voluntary mechanism that humans can undertake to stay healthy, but it definitely is NOT a panacea for all ills.

by Dr Upul Wijayawardhana

Two governments, in recent times, came to power promising good governance and the first Yahapalanaya, as its name itself being the Sinhala translation of good governance, failed miserably with rampant corruption, crowned by the 2015 Treasury bond Scam. The JVP, the major component of the present government, propped up Yahapalanaya when the then President Maithripala Sirisena turned hostile towards the Prime Minister, and trying to sack the latter. It ended with a tragedy, the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, which could have been prevented had warnings be heeded but gross incompetence of those in charge resulted in a catastrophe, effects of which continue to reverberate.

Due to the misdeeds of the Pohottuwa that followed Yahapalanaya, voters gave an overwhelming mandate to Malimawa, which promised a new era with good governance, sans favouritism, even excusing them for the attempted takeover of Parliament by force, an action that failed due to the timely intervention of the Army. JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake was elected President two years ago and his administration seems to be a duplication of Yahapalanaya!

One of the first acts of the incoming President was the appointment of two police officers, who were prominent members of the JVP-led NPP’s ‘Retired Police Officers Collective’ and took an active part in the NPP election campaign, as confirmed by their own affidavits to the Supreme Court, to plum jobs. He plucked them out of retirement. Shani Abeysekara recently had a backdated promotion to be a DIG, in spite of initial objections of the Public Services Commission. It is very likely he was given backpay, being handsomely rewarded for the unstinted support to the NPP! If this does not stink of cronyism, what will?

There is no doubt that Abeysekara brought the police into disrespect by what he stated in the leaked Ranjan Ramanayaka tapes. In spite of the apparent ‘fixing’ of cases, he was brought back as the head of the CID. Perhaps, that is what the government expects of him to do! Retired officers, reemployed on contract basis, are not entitled to promotions. Ravi Seneviratne is different as many governments have appointed those active in politics as Ministry Secretaries. However, pending court cases against him should have prevented him from assuming overall control of the police. Favouritism continues in spite of all the pledges!

What about good governance? The very first act, following the NPP’s massive victory in the parliamentary elections, was the appointment of a Speaker who was exposed for claiming to have a bogus doctorate. He had to step down in disgrace after it was exposed that he claimed a non-existent doctorate from a private Japanese university. By the way, he led the protests against privatisation of medical education but claims to have chosen a private university for his doctorate! Maybe, as the President said in one of his parliamentary speeches, the Parliament is the place where one can tell lies!

The economic success they claim is simply due to the tough measures initiated by Ranil through negotiations with the IMF, which this government continues, although it painted a black picture of that institution while out of power. The government claims to have had corrupt former politicians and officials thrown behind bars, but most of the successful cases were initiated prior to their coming to power. They seem to continue with the corrupt political culture but seem immune from investigations. JVP politicians are far from being squeaky clean, and they even refused to answer questions about their assets.

The biggest concern, however, is the country’s slow but steady descent into autocracy. Power behind the throne, Tilvin Silva has indicated that at least 20 years are needed for reform and many MPs have stated that no future elections are needed. Infiltration of the various branches of government continues unabated. President Dissanayake did his best to bring a chum of his as Auditor General, but this attempt was thwarted by the Constitution Council.

The way the 22nd Amendment to the constitution was presented to Parliament highlights the undemocratic conduct of this government. There were no consultations whatsoever and the legitimate requests by interested parties, like the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), were ignored by the President, giving it a hearing only after the amendment was gazetted. The government told blatant lies about the protest letter sent by the Mahanayakas. Interestingly, the Catholic Church was the last to join the list of organisations protesting, may be fearing isolation. Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith is usually very vociferous on issues of injustice.

The Island

editorial, “Walls of Secrecy” (The Island, 17 August) highlights all the ramifications, specially JVP-NPP building a wall of secrecy whilst promising good governance to get elected. A cabal seems to be running the show, intoxicated with unbridled power!

Interestingly, no government MP has raised any objections to 22A, the only prominent member of the NPP to raise objections being Lal Wijenayake, a senior lawyer and lifelong Samasamajist. In vibrant democracies there is always internal dissent, sometimes leading to the ouster of leaders, like what happened to Keir Starmer in the UK, but this seems totally lacking in this government, with all 159 MPs acting like signal posts! Decisions are taken by a few in Pelawatta, as evident from Lal Wijenayake’s pronouncement that 22A was not approved by the NPP. It is very concerning that he revealed that he had been warned not to oppose 22A. His is a solitary voice of dissent and that, too, outside Parliament. The way MPs vote, this government would be able to change anything and everything with its two-thirds majority.

It would be a crucial juncture for our democracy, the way the judiciary acts regarding the validity of 22A. Would the voters have a choice?

The way things are happening, this government seems a mirror-image of Yahapalanaya government, which broke the promises of good governance. What is more worrying is that there are already signs of the government losing popularity and, if this trend continues, it will not hold elections. We seem to be heading towards a dictatorship.